Confederations Cup 2009 football tournament is going to end on 28 June with the final match between Brazil and USA. The match will take place at the Coca-ColaPark, Johannesburg and millions of football fans are now eagerly waiting for the match. USA caused an upset when they eliminated European champion Spain in the semi final with a 2-0 shocking victory. No doubt, USA players are now gearing up to cause another upset in the tournament final in order to ensure their biggest ever achievement in male’s soccer. Brazil may not have been at their best recently, but their performance so far in the tournament has been pretty much satisfactory.
Match: Brazil vs USA; Final; FIFA Confederations Cup 2009
Venue: Coca-ColaPark, Johannesburg, South Africa
Date: 28 June 2009
Time: 18:30 GMT
Live TV: ESPN
USA has showed excellent progress over the last few years and they have reputation as a giant killer, a tag they have proven in this tournament as well. American footballers know that the only defeat they suffered in this continental tournament came against Brazil when they lost the Latin American giants 3-0 in the group stage. Well, that may not affect the American footballers much, because they are now pretty much confident and determined after defeating African champions Egypt and European champion Spain. Naturally, their players are now left with something to prove against the Brazilians in the tournament final.
Brazil is clearly favorite against USA, but Brazilian players have no scope to show complacency against USA in the tournament. It is pretty much understandable that USA players would try their best to achieve their biggest ever success in football and they are now determined not to let the change go away. Brazil is traditionally a football powerhouse who has record 5 world cup titles and this is very important to note that they are the most successful team in Confederations Cup history with 2 titles alongside France.
Winning the tournament is very important for Brazilian coach Dunga because he is facing huge criticism from the football analysts for his defensive approach on the field. Attacking football is a tradition in Brazil and they have presented some of world’s biggest stars in the history of football. Well, I think, the Brazilian squad is currently going through a formation period and Dunga is perhaps trying to build the squad ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2010. Well, one thing is for sure that Brazil is not playing like Brazil at this moment, but I think, people should give some time to Dunga to prove his talent and skill as a coach.
USA has never been a striking force in football, but the American side has established themselves as a giant killer whom all other football playing nations would like to avoid. Even though they do not have any major success outside their continent, they occasionally defeat other football forces in international friendly matches. They have a quality midfielder in Clint Dempsey who is currently playing for English premier league club Fulham. USA forward line up includes some quality strikers like Charlie Davies, Landon Donovan and Jozy Altidore. USA also has an excellent goalkeeper in Everton’s Tim Howard who made some excellent saves against Spain. Despite having a balanced squad, it would not be easy for USA to cause another upset in the tournament final.
The Confederations Cup final goes down Sunday bright and early at 7:30 a.m. ET and if the United States hopes to win, they're going to have to score. Plain and simple. Brazil is 13-1 in head-to-head meetings with the United States and has outscored the U.S. 26-8.
Brazil always has some stars in its squad and they are always influential in world football. However, the current squad does not include as many stars as it did even during last world cup. Still, Brazil’s current squad features world’s most expensive player Kaka and Robinho in its attacking line up. Brazilian striker Luís Fabiano is currently the highest scorer in the tournament with 3 goals to his credit alongside Fernando Torres and David Villa. Brazil has some quality defenders like captain Lúcio, Barcelona defender Dani Alves and defensive midfielder Gilberto Silva. Well, I am not considering Gilberto Silva as a defender, but his defensive style of play at the centre of the midfield has been pretty much effective for Brazil and provides a much-needed aide to the defense.
Online Live Score and Updates
Here, I am giving some websites from where you can get the live score and updates of the match:
Live Score
Goalzz
Footie Scorez
Sportpress
Goal.com
I already mentioned that Brazil would start as a favorite, but it does not mean that USA would go into the field and allow Brazil to go away with the title. I am sure that Brazil is going to face tougher challenge from USA in the final and I hope that the final would be much more interesting and enjoyable than their previous one-sided meeting.
